Poshard is appointed SIU's new president

Ex-lawmaker seeks to unify university

Southern Illinois University tapped former U.S. Congressman and former Democratic candidate for governor Glenn Poshard as its president, the university's board of trustees announced Friday.

The announcement came five months after Poshard resigned as chairman of SIU's board of trustees to seek the presidency. He replaces James E. Walker, who is battling prostate cancer.

Poshard, 60, who lost to former Gov. George Ryan in 1998, will take over Jan. 1 and inherits a recently announced $100 million capital campaign.

He said his biggest challenge will be to unify a geographically and academically diverse university, which serves more than 35,000 students.

Poshard said he's focusing on a new cancer research facility for the medical school in Springfield and an expanded dental school in Alton to attract more students. The Edwardsville campus needs new dorms and a new science building.

Meanwhile, the university's flagship Carbondale campus has several building projects under way. He also wants to devise a long-range plan for student health care and to expand research facilities there.

Despite the five-time congressman's network in Springfield and in Washington, Poshard will have to reach beyond public sources of funding to be successful, some said.

"State university presidents today ... [must] raise money from private sources," said Mike Lawrence, director of the university's Public Policy Institute. "This is a major challenge for an SIU president, because SIU has not had a history of building a sizable endowment."

Another big challenge Poshard faces is an expected lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The department threatened earlier this month to sue if the school continued to offer what it called discriminatory graduate scholarships.

"I'm sure that there can be an understanding reached with the Justice Department on those programs," Poshard said.